1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to campers and more particularly to collapsible campers that are stored and transported in a highly compacted state but which expand into a spacious camper on site.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Collapsible campers have long been in use in the prior art. The following briefly describes some of the prior art campers as they relate to the present invention.
The July 13, 1965 U.S. Pat. No. 3,194,251 to Pettersen discloses a collapsible camper having an upwardly extending canopy which is supported by a plurality of rod members. Upstanding side walls are further provided as well as longitudinally extending side flaps which are hingedly attached thereto. Both the side walls and the side flaps are designed to fold inwardly by means of hinges upon each other and into the bed of the trailer. Canvas is positioned between the canopy and the upstanding side members to form the camper in the expanded state.
The prior art patent to Koon, U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,538, issued Aug. 26, 1969 teaches the use of an upwardly extended canopy forming the roof being mounted on four telescoping supports. A crank is further provided for raising the canopy which at the same time causes the side walls of the camper to extend outwardly in order to form the sides of the camper. The front and rear walls of the camper are further affixed to the canopy and raise and lower with the actuation of a crank. Thus, the entire camper can be assembled by actuation of only a crank mechanism.
The patent to Farnum, U.S. Pat. No. 3,429,608, issued Feb. 25, 1969 shows a similar arrangement to Koon in that through actuation of a crank a canopy can be upwardly extended. In Farnum, however, the operator then manually errects the sides of the camper into position. The operator further positions the end walls into place manually.
The British patent to Birch, British Pat. No. 457,169, issued on Nov. 23, 1936 teaches the use of an upwardly extending canopy serving as a roof to which is attached two flaps which form the side walls of the camper. Extendable supports are further positioned in the center of the camper for bracing the canopy.
The following prior art patents all teach the use of an integral upwardly extending canopy structures that serves as the roof of a camper: McCarthy, U.S. Pat. No. 3,560,042, Feb. 2, 1971; Daniels et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,499,677, issued on Mar. 10, 1970; Kundsen, U.S. Pat. No. 3,632,153, issued on Jan. 4, 1972; Krutzikowsky, U.S. Pat. No. 3,288,520, issued on Nov. 29, 1966; Groh, U.S. Pat. No. 3,013,836, issued on Dec. 19, 1961; and Dontigny, U.S. Pat. No. 3,694,022, issued on Sept. 26, 1972.
The following prior art patents teach the use of a longitudinal outwardly extending side or box provided for extending the usable width of the trailer: Chase, U.S. Pat. Des. No. 177,086, issued on Mar. 13, 1956; Cox, U.S. Pat. No. 3,163,460, issued on Dec. 29, 1964; Larsson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,371,954, issued on Mar. 5, 1968; Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 3,062,579, issued on Nov. 6, 1962; Fischer, U.S. Pat. No. 3,032,369, issued on May 1, 1962; Da Silva, U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,581, issued on Jan. 19, 1971; Knowlton, U.S. Pat. No. 3,399,920, issued on Sept. 3, 1968.
Although the above prior art patents show various arrangements for collapsible trailers, none of the above patents provide for an easily manufactured, highly durable, and compact camper. The following problems are apparent with the above approaches. Those prior art approaches that use canvas or the like for side walls are not durable and long-lasting due to wear and possible tearing. It is well known, for example, that during transport of such collapsible campers such surfaces wear significantly due to the vibration of traveling. Those prior art approaches above that utilize one crank to completely erect the camper suffer from the malady of all components working, at all times, in complete harmony. While such systems operate effectively in the beginning, as they wear, various components fail and may prevent such automatic assembly of the camper. For example, it is known that on some of the above prior art approaches which utilize a crank for complete assembly thereof that after use and wear, whenever the camper is erected several positions might be presented in which the crank will encounter a severe force or stress. In such a case, the user, becoming familiar with the idiosyncrasies of the problems, usually has to tap, pound, or otherwise mechanically interfere with what should be an automatic assembly of the camper. Such approaches, therefore, are highly unacceptable in the consumer marketplace.
Some of the above prior art approaches are simply too complex thereby causing high manufacturing costs and resulting in consumer unacceptance due to their complexity.
The present invention overcomes the above difficulties by setting forth a unique arrangement of parts which can be quickly manipulated by the user in order to rapidly assemble a camper from a highly compacted state into a fully erected state. None of the above patents contemplate such a novel arrangement of component parts as herein disclosed for the present invention.